Apparatus and method for radio frequency sterilization of cigars

ABSTRACT

Cigars are passed through a radio frequency field and exposed to heating from said field of a specific intensity and for a specific time duration so as to sterilize the cigars without overheating them. The center of each cigar is brought to a temperature within the range of 140*F to 180*F and heated for 4 to 15 seconds by the RF field. While under the influence of the heat, the cigars may be pressed and pierced.

United States Patent 1 [11] 3,820,549 Flinchbaugh June 28, 1974 [54] APPARATUS AND METHODFOR RADIO 3,057,361 10/1962 Respess 131/121 x FREQUENCY STERILIZATION 0F CIGARS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor: Donald i b g York, 1,051,1 0 2/1959 Germany 131/121 [73] Assignee: ExCel Engineering Incorporated,

R Li p Przmary ExammerMelv1n D. Rem Attorney, Agent, or FirmPaul & Paul [22] F1led: Nov. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.1 310,766 [57] ABSTRACT Cigars are passed through a radio frequency field and [52] US. Cl 131/121, 131/253, 131/142 p d to h ating rom said field of a specific inten- [51] Int. Cl. A24c 01/38 y and for a specific time duration so as to sterilize [58] Fi ld f S a h [31/12], 140, 253, 254, the cigars without overheating them. The center of 131/255, 142 each cigar is brought to a temperature within the range of 140F to 180F and heated for 4 to 15 sec- [56] R fere es Cit d ends by the RF field. While under the influence of the UNITED PATENTS heat, the cigars may be pressed and pierced. 2,064,522 12/1936 Davis 131/121 X 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures L L/ TO PRESS RF GENERATOR POWER SOURCE PATENTEDJIIII28 I974 22 CIGAR CIGAR IN EED R F PREssING cIGAR HEATING AND WRAPPING PIERGING F lg. I

/ A 7 I% TO PREss 000 0000000 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO; Q) 1 RF POWER GENERATOR SOURCE Fig. 2

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RADIO v FREQUENCY STERILIZATION OF CIGARS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 2. Description of the Prior Art In cigar making, it is well known that the tobacco from which the cigars are produced carries with it a certain amount of bugs and eggs which, of course, are

- not wanted and desirably should be completely eliminated. However, any effort to thus sanitize the cigars must be made without otherwise destroying the desired characteristics of the cigars; In particular, efforts to sanitize the cigars by heat treating same can be ruinous,

since it is very undesirable to dry a cigar after it has been manufactured. Thus, while it has been known that the bugs and eggs can be killed and the cigar thus sanitized rather efficiently by exposing the cigars to a sufficient amount of heat, such procedures as have been tried in the past have generally also been accompanied by a prohibitive amount of drying of the cigars. There is thus a need in the art for a method of controlling heat treating of cigars so as to efficiently sanitize them without the undesirable side effect of drying same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the primary'purpose of this invention to provide an apparatus and a method for heat treating cigars with radio frequency energy under conditions so as to sanitize the cigars without causing unacceptable drying of 7 them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the step of radio,

frequency heating involved in practicing this invention, as well as the subsequent steps of cigar pressing and piercing and final cigar wrapping.

FIG. 2 is a combined cross sectional view and schematic diagram showing apparatus for radio frequency sanitizing and heating of cigars, as used in this invention. I

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram illustrating the finishing operations performed on a cigar after it has been delivered from a cigar making machine. In the practice of this invention, the cigars are first subjected to radio frequency heating, as illustrated at block 20, primarily for the purpose of sterilizing (sanitizing) the cigars and also for heating them just the right amount to make them more pliable, i.e., for softening them, so as to facilitate. the subsequent step of pressing the cigars. After heating, the cigars are pressed and pierced, as shown in block 21. It is to be understood that the pressing and piercing operations may be carried out with any commercially available equipment, and the precise manner of pressing and piercing is not a portion of this invention. However, it is important to note that by heating the cigars a sufficient amount, the cigars are softened so as to facilitate the steps of pressing and piercing and allow them to be carried out without breaking the cigars. To the extent that the cigar pressing and piercing operations are carried out while the cigars remain soft from the RF heating, the general steps of pressing and piercing are embraced within the method of this invention. After the pressing and heating step, the cigars are wrapped as shown in block 22, and packaged for delivery.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated the preferred apparatus used in the practice of this invention. The cigars 25 are fed onto a transport mechanism, here illustrated as a conveyor 26, driven by a conventional motor means not shown. The cigars are transported at a uniform rate between a pair of electrodes 28, 29, spaced apart by a predetermined amount, the character of which is discussed further hereinbelow. The electrode plates 28, 29 are electrically connected, as by leads 44, 45, to a RF generator 30. The RF generator receives its power from any conventional power source 31, which typically will include one or more transformers to provide any high voltage required.

In practice, it has been found that best results are obtained when the cigars are internally heated, i.e., approximately at the center thereof, at a temperature of about 160F, or within a range of to 180F. It is to be noted that the radio frequency energy coupled from generator 30 to electrodes 28, 29 is manifested as an RF field within the electrode plates, through which the cigars are passed. The nature of radio frequency heating is that the point of highest heat dissipation is at the point where the moisture content is greatest. The normal moisture content of a cigar is approximately 15 percent, while the moisture content of a bug or egg is approximately 80 percent (substantially greater than that of the average throughout the cigar). As a consequence, the point of highest heat dissipation within the cigar is precisely at the bug or egg, which is then heated to a higher temperature than the remainder of the cigar having the lower moisture concentration. Therefore, for a radio frequency energy which heats the cigar to about F, bugs or eggs are heated to a much greater temperature so that they are boiled, thus killing the bugs, eggs, larva and/or any other forms of life.

In order to obtain the required amount of heating of the cigars in practicing this invention, there is a tradeoff between the rate of energy to be absorbed by the cigar and the amount of time that the cigar is heated. The power dissipation between the electrodes consequently varies inversely with the amount of time the cigars are maintained within the RF field, Ie, the speed of conveyor belt 26. It has been found that, using a radio frequency of 27 MHz, proper heating is obtained by using a power output from generator 30 of about 1,625 watts for 4 seconds. Alternately, the method has been successfully practiced using 1,200 watts at 2,450 MHz for 15 seconds. The radio frequency generator used in making these tests was the generator contained in a Thermex unit, made by Votator Division, Chemtron Corp., Model No. CP20B39I.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the upper electrode plate 28 is shown connected through connecting elements 35 and 36 to a support element 34,.which in turn is carried by rods 37 and 38. Support element 34 is also connected to a threaded member 40 which threadedly engages fixed element 39. Element 40 is connected to and rotatable by handle 41, such that when the handle is rotated, the screw threads cause element 40, and thus support plate 34, to move up and down. By this mechanism, electrode 28 can be moved up or down with respect to the conveyor belt 26, which is at a fixed position, and also with respect to electrode 29 which is fixed in position. The amount of power which is coupled from generator 30 to electrodes 28, 29 depends upon the spacing of the electrode plates, and by thus varying the spacing (designated L), the amount of power can be varied. Altemately, the RF generator itself may be designed to provide varying power output. Thus, the user has means to adjust the actual field intensity, and thus the power which is delivered to the cigars.

In the preferred embodiment described hereinabove, the RF heating is what is referred to as dielectric, and is achieved by generating the RF field between a pair of parallel electrodes. This embodiment has the advantages of ease of construction and adaptability to receiving therethrough a flow of cigars. However, it is to be understood that other means for generating the RF field may be employed in the practice of this invention, such as using waveguides to deliver the RF energy to a prescribed location.

Tests have been conducted to illustrate the efficiency of the apparatus and method of this invention. In these tests, using the dielectric form of RF heating, eggs were implanted in three groups of cigars. In one of these groups, the cigars were subjected to RF heating at full power (about 1,625 watts); a second group was subjected to half power; and a third group was not subjected to RF heating. Each of the two groups of cigars subjected to RF heating were discovered to have had 100 percent kill of implanted eggs. Of the group of cigars not subjected to RF heating, approximately 50 percent of eggs were later found to have hatched.

The above results indicate the efficacy of this invention for sanitizing, or sterilizing cigars. In addition, it has been found that the heating as above prescribed for the sterilizing operation also softens the cigars to a degree such that the steps of pressing and piercing are facilitated, with reduced cigar breakage, when they follow immediately after the heating step. This invention thus provides an efficient and improved method both for sterilizing cigars and for treating them for the steps of pressing and piercing. While varying powers may be used for the cigar heating, as shown in the tests discussed hereinabove, the power range for efficient practice of the invention lies within about 500 to 2,000

watts.

I claim:

1. A method of sterilizing cigars comprising:

a. moving said cigars through a heating region;

b. heating said cigars for a predetermined time in said heating region with RF energy at a temperature within the range of l40F to 180F, whereby said cigars are sterilized and softened; and

c. pressing and piercing said cigars while they remain softened.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein said heating region is defined by a pair of spaced electrodes, and said heating step comprises generating an RF field between said electrodes.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein each of said cigars is heated for a time within the range of 4 to 15 seconds, and wherein the RF field power in said heating region is within the range of about 500 to 2,000 watts.

4. Apparatus for softening and sterilizing cigars comprising:

a. a heating region;

b. means for moving cigars through said heating region, said moving means moving each of said cigars through said heating region in a time within the range of 4 to 15 seconds; and

c. RF source means disposed to generate an RF field within said heating region of an intensity so as to heat the center of said moving cigars to a temperature within the range of 140F to [F and means for pressing and piercing the said cigars while softened in the heating region.

5. The apparatus as described in claim 4, wherein said source means comprises a pair of electrodes, and said moving means moves said cigars between said electrodes.

6. The apparatus as described in claim 5, wherein the spacing of said electrodes is adjustable, whereby the intensity of the field between same may be adjusted.

7. The apparatus as described in claim 5, wherein the power output of said source means is adjustable, whereby the intensity of the RF field between said electrodes may be adjusted to provide the optimum field intensity to achieve sterilization of said cigars without drying same. 

1. A method of sterilizing cigars comprising: a. moving said cigars through a heating region; b. heating said cigars for a predetermined time in said heating region with RF energy at a temperature within the range of 140*F to 180*F, whereby said cigars are sterilized and softened; and c. pressing and piercing said cigars while they remain softened.
 2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein said heating region is defined by a pair of spaced electrodes, and said heating step comprises generating an RF field between said electrodes.
 3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein each of said cigars is heated for a time within the range of 4 to 15 seconds, and wherein the RF field power in said heating region is within the range of about 500 to 2,000 watts.
 4. Apparatus for softening and sterilizing cigars comprising: a. a heating region; b. means for moving cigars through said heating region, said moving means moving each of said cigars through said heating region in a time within the range of 4 to 15 seconds; and c. RF source means disposed to generate an RF field within said heating region of an intensity so as to heat the center of said moving cigars to a temperature within the range of 140*F to 180*F and means for pressing and piercing the said cigars while softened in the heating region.
 5. The appAratus as described in claim 4, wherein said source means comprises a pair of electrodes, and said moving means moves said cigars between said electrodes.
 6. The apparatus as described in claim 5, wherein the spacing of said electrodes is adjustable, whereby the intensity of the field between same may be adjusted.
 7. The apparatus as described in claim 5, wherein the power output of said source means is adjustable, whereby the intensity of the RF field between said electrodes may be adjusted to provide the optimum field intensity to achieve sterilization of said cigars without drying same. 